Supernatural Boarding School #2 - A Touch of Red ✅

Chapter 62

Missing Dylan was like having my arm amputated. I had expected to miss him, but not quite this much. After two days, I was already wishing he would just come back and start sleeping in Eros' dorm again, having breakfast with us, teasing me, cuddling on the couch with Carl.

The fact that it was a full moon on the 6th of March didn't do much for my mood. Without Sam's good mood, there was nothing but despair in my dorm for three days straight. The only good things was that Sheila managed to turn all on her own, without needed any kind of help from Ben. The morning after, she joined me, Simon and Eros for breakfast again. Ben was with us as well, since he'd shown up in case Sheila had needed him to change back but she hadn't.

It was by far the weirdest group of people to have breakfast with. Sheila and had no trouble filling the silence with happy chatter, surprising everyone. I kept wanting to joke about it with Dylan, only to remember time and time again that he would never sit in the cafeteria with us ever again. And in a week and a half, neither would Eros. In a matter of two weeks, I would be back at my old table with Simon, Antwan and Will. I'd be back to playing Guitar Hero and spending my Saturdays making homework with Sy instead of making our with Eros and bickering with Dylan.

Don't get me wrong, I love Simon and his roommates, but I had gotten so used to a new routine this year and I had enjoyed every minute of it. With Eros leaving next week, it felt like it was the end of an era. And if Dylan's absence was like missing an arm, the lack of Eros' presence in my daily life would be like tearing out my heart.

"Hey, isn't it your six month anniversary next week?" Simon asked suddenly, trying to get me out of my funk.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "September 12th."

"Only six months?" Sheila asked, surprised. "I keep forgetting that you were first dating this one..." She pointed at Simon. "But you broke up with him long ago, right? Longer than six months ago?"

"True, but I didn't exactly get with Eros the next day," I mused, smiling at Eros. "It was a difficult process, to use an understatement."

"It always is with Eros Slayer," Sheila told me knowingly, reminding me once again that she had been with him before had. For the first time ever, it wasn't in a malicious way. She even winked. What had gotten into this girl?

The bell sounded through the cafeteria, meaning that we needed to get to our first classes as soon as possible. I kissed Eros goodbye and waved at the others. Before I could get my ass to History, Ben pulled me back.

"So, your anniversary is on Tuesday?"

I nodded. "It's not a big deal, Ben, you don't have to do anything for us. It's just six months."

"I've already got a great idea for a gift." He smiled wickedly, making my skin crawl. "Trust me."

Not giving me time to react, he took off. I knew for a fact that his idea of a great gift would turn out to be the biggest mistake he would ever make. I was not going to let him compel Sandra and Todd.

Over. My. Dead. Body.

And I mean that quite literally.

***

My last qualms about the plan getting more and more clear in my mind were squashed that very same night. I had spent every free minute with Antwan and Will instead of Eros, which had made him be on edge. I take full responsibility for that. What I didn't feel particulary responsible for was how he chose to deal with his feelings. To be fair, his mother called him twice and e-mailed page after page about how his dad had overindulged in alcohol when he was younger and how proud she was of Eros for beating that demon within him.

It chouldn't have surprised me that Eros would go back on his promise to me and drink himself into a crazy haze of self-compulsion. Maybe I shoul dhave expected him to attack Corey when his roommates refused to feed him the way Dylan had always done. Leo had saved both of his friends by taking a book out of Simon's page and knocking him out with a frying pan. Handy things, those pans.

The episode hadn't been as bad as some of his previous ones had been. Corey was barely hurt and he and Leo shrugged Eros' beheivor off like it had been nothing. Just another day at Van Siweten. In a week, they wouldn't have to deal with it anymore, since Eros would be in Denver. Maybe that helped his friends to be even more forgiven than they normally were.

I had been planning on talking to Eros about Benjamin, deciding on a course of action together. His beheivor had made that impossible. As much as I wanted to be there for him, I knew that I needed to do whatever it took for me to save not just him, but his mother and stepdad as well.

So, I made Antwan and Will swear not to tell anyone about the spells I'd made them perform on the hair I'd collected and carefully glued to a piece of fabric. My next course of action was to give Greg a call and ask him if he could drop off the cell phone jammers he illegaly bought a few years back. He'd used them back at my old high school to jam phone signals, just to mess with his classmates. I had neve runderstood his fashionation with those kind of gadgets, but they came in handy this time around.

I knew that if I wanted to beat Ben to compelling Sandra and Todd, I needed to execute my plan the evening before the day of our six month anniversary. Any later and I would be too late.

I spent the entire weekend preparing. Writing letters, gathering other things I wanted either Eros or one of my friends to have. In a way, it was a good thing that Dylan was already back in Kansas. Part of my plan depended on him. What also played right into my hands was the fact that Simon didn't question why I had shut off our bond for a way longer time that I ususally did. He just assumed Eros and I were getting hot and heavy all the time, wanting to use up every second we had together.

When March 11th finally arrived, I was ready for it. After school, I put cell phone jammers in the dorms of all of my friends, all of Eros' friends and used a sleep potion I'd asked Antwan to make for me to make sure that Simon wouldn't be around to mess thing sup for me.

It was almost too easy. I just ordered some Chinese food, sprinkled the potion over it and knocked at Simon's door. The guys dug in and twenty minutes later, they were out cold for at least a few hours and I was out of the door.

Eros' roommates were easy to get rid of as well. I gave them take-out as well and sent them off to go and eat it with Charlotte. When I checked on them half an hour later, they were one less problem to worry about.

All that was left for me to do was pick out a sexy outfit that Eros wouldn't be able to resist, throw a coat over it so I could walk over to his dorm, call Dylan on my way over to Eros' dorm and get to work. The final part of my plan was the only part I was actullay looking forward to.

Finally, I would be able to give myself to Eros completely.

***

"What do you mean, I have to get in my car and drive?" Dylan sounded incredulous. "It's a four hour drive!"

"Look, I can't explain everything, but trust me when I say that I need to do this. And when I'm done, Eros will need you more than ever. So stop arguing and get in the car." I took a deep breath to keep myself from panicking. I'd been doing so well until now.

"Dem? What are you talking about?"

"Look, there is an old shoe box on my nightstand," I told him. "Inside of it are letters. The one on the top has your name on it. Once you read it, everything will become clear. I trust you to make sure the other letters and items get to the right people."

"What are you talking about?" Dylan was screaming at me know. "You sound like you're telling me where I can find you suicide note."

"I'm praying that it won't turn out to be one, but I guess you might call it that." I didn't give him time to react. "I love you, Dylan. Take good care of Eros for me."